The Raynham Channel will show off its new home at open house Saturday

The Raynham Channel will be showing off its new home at the former South School at an open house Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“It’s almost becoming more of a community center. It’s an extra resource for the town,” said Pat Riley, a member of the board of director’s of RayCAM, the non-profit that oversees the town’s community access programming.

RayCAM recently completed a full renovation of the top floor of the former elementary school to serve as the Raynham Channel’s new headquarters, Riley said.

Saturday's event will feature games, raffles, refreshments, a reptile show, tours of the renovated facility and a few surprises, Riley said.

As part of the renovation, the former classrooms have been converted into a production room and office, a conference/meeting room, and a theater-like lecture hall or special events room featuring a large screen and comfortable seating for more than 40 people, Riley said.

She said non-profit and civic groups are welcome to use the space and in fact some town boards are already holding meetings there, as well as a Girl Scout troop.

Members of the public are also encouraged to volunteer at the Raynham Channel in a variety of capacities, from hosting their own shows to taping community events to working as crew members on the set, she said.

That offer very much extends to high school and middle school students, Riley said.

“We’re trying to get more community programming,” she said.

Riley herself is a longtime Raynham Channel contributor – as well as being a longtime member of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School Committee.

Her very first appearance was as host of a candidates night back in 1988, quickly followed by the premiere of her current events talk show “Inside Scoop,” which is still on the air.

She also co-hosts “B-R Connection” with B-R Superintendent Derek Swenson and previously co-hosted “Good Old Days” with former Selectman Don McKinnon.

And Riley has a brand new show “Raynham Stroll Down Memory Lane.”

Her first episode will be a tribute to the unforgettable Kathleen Roberts, a longtime Raynham resident and former president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association who died on Sept. 23 at the age of 103.

In addition to its new home in the former South School, the Raynham Channel will retain its one-room studio at Raynham Middle School that previously served as its headquarters.

The Raynham Channel had outgrown that space and it had no expansion potential, Riley said.

But it still serves as a valuable educational resource. In the past teachers have done special projects there and an after-school video club has met there, Riley said.

Riley said the open house will be a great opportunity for residents to make suggestions about the kind of programming they’d like to see.

“We’d like input from the community,” she said.

The public is invited to the open house on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the former South School located at 305 South Street East. Information will be available about the Raynham Channel's programming, special events and volunteer opportunities.